{"id":99044,"date":"2025-11-07T08:55:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:55:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=99044"},"modified":"2025-11-07T08:55:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-07T13:55:09","slug":"former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/","title":{"rendered":"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com KIRKLAND LAKE – A former youth detention centre in Kirkland Lake has found new life as an Indigenous-led training and cultural space. North Eastern Ontario Family and Children\u2019s Services (NEOFACS) has transferred ownership of its property at 175 Government Road \u2014 the former Pineger Youth Centre \u2014 to Keepers of the Circle, marking what both organizations describe as a meaningful act of reconciliation. \u201cThis is NEOFACS putting action into reconciliation,\u201d Bertha Cormier, Keepers of the Circle\u2019s executive director, told TimminsToday. The transfer follows several years of collaboration between the two organizations and approval from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The Pineger site, which operated from 1993 until its closure in 2021 following a provincial restructuring of youth justice services, had… <\/p>\n

\n
\n
This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription – Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.
Register<\/a><\/div>\n
Already a member? Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com KIRKLAND LAKE – A former youth detention centre in Kirkland Lake has found new life as an Indigenous-led training and cultural space. North Eastern Ontario Family and Children\u2019s Services (NEOFACS) has transferred ownership of its property at 175 Government Road \u2014 the former Pineger Youth Centre \u2014 to Keepers of the Circle, marking what both organizations describe as a meaningful act of reconciliation. \u201cThis is NEOFACS putting action into reconciliation,\u201d Bertha Cormier, Keepers of the Circle\u2019s executive director, told TimminsToday. The transfer follows several years of collaboration between the two organizations and approval from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The Pineger site, which operated from 1993 until its closure in 2021 following a provincial restructuring of youth justice services, had... <\/p>\n

This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, and Canada Print and Online members only.
Register<\/a><\/div>
Already a member? Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com KIRKLAND LAKE – A former youth detention centre in Kirkland Lake has found new life as an Indigenous-led training and cultural space. North Eastern Ontario Family and Children\u2019s Services (NEOFACS) has transferred ownership of its property at 175 Government Road \u2014 the former Pineger Youth Centre \u2014 to Keepers of the Circle, marking what both organizations describe as a meaningful act of reconciliation. \u201cThis is NEOFACS putting action into reconciliation,\u201d Bertha Cormier, Keepers of the Circle\u2019s executive director, told TimminsToday. The transfer follows several years of collaboration between the two organizations and approval from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The Pineger site, which operated from 1993 until its closure in 2021 following a provincial restructuring of youth justice services, had\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-11-07T13:55:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-07T13:55:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":746,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/\",\"name\":\"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub - The Turtle Island News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2025-11-07T13:55:09+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/07\\\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Turtle Island News\",\"description\":\"Your Source for Local News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Turtle Island News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"width\":140,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Turtle Island News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/TurtleIslandNews\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/newsattheturtle\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\",\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lynda Powless\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/lynda\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub - The Turtle Island News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub - The Turtle Island News","og_description":"By Marissa Lentz-McGrath, Local Journalism Initiative, TimminsToday.com KIRKLAND LAKE – A former youth detention centre in Kirkland Lake has found new life as an Indigenous-led training and cultural space. North Eastern Ontario Family and Children\u2019s Services (NEOFACS) has transferred ownership of its property at 175 Government Road \u2014 the former Pineger Youth Centre \u2014 to Keepers of the Circle, marking what both organizations describe as a meaningful act of reconciliation. \u201cThis is NEOFACS putting action into reconciliation,\u201d Bertha Cormier, Keepers of the Circle\u2019s executive director, told TimminsToday. The transfer follows several years of collaboration between the two organizations and approval from the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services. The Pineger site, which operated from 1993 until its closure in 2021 following a provincial restructuring of youth justice services, had","og_url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/","og_site_name":"The Turtle Island News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","article_published_time":"2025-11-07T13:55:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":725,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lynda Powless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_site":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynda Powless","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/"},"author":{"name":"Lynda Powless","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458"},"headline":"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub","datePublished":"2025-11-07T13:55:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/"},"wordCount":746,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["National News","ticker"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/","name":"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub - The Turtle Island News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2025-11-07T13:55:09+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/07\/former-detention-centre-transformed-into-indigenous-led-cultural-hub\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Former detention centre transformed into Indigenous-led cultural hub"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","name":"The Turtle Island News","description":"Your Source for Local News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization","name":"Turtle Island News","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","width":140,"height":150,"caption":"Turtle Island News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","https:\/\/x.com\/newsattheturtle","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458","name":"Lynda Powless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lynda Powless"},"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/author\/lynda\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99044"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99045,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99044\/revisions\/99045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}